Parking management method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the present specification discloses a parking management method, the method comprising: periodically acquiring images of a parking area at a first time interval, and storing the acquired images; periodically performing a parking judgment operation at a second time interval; wherein each parking judgment operation comprises: judging whether parking information of the parking area has changed within the latest second time interval according to the end images of each of the two latest second time intervals; the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval; if it is judged that parking information of the parking area has changed, determining a target image according to a parking management demand type, and determining a parking management result according to the target image.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of parking management, and in particular to a parking management method and device. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, on-street parking (or roadside parking) is a widely used parking method. Compared with parking in parking lots, on-street parking lacks corresponding entrance and exit vehicle information recognition equipment, and cannot complete fully automatic parking time management. It requires manual observation or the use of parking space detection equipment (such as geomagnetism, etc.) to detect vehicle changes in parking spaces, and manually record the vehicle license plate numbers in parking spaces for parking billing, which is labor-intensive and inefficient.

[0003] Specifically, the existing on-street parking fee charging method is described as follows:

[0004] 1) Use parking space inspection management personnel to inspect:

[0005] Parking space inspection managers inspect parking spaces at fixed time intervals (e.g., 15 minutes) and record vehicle entry and exit times, charges, etc. This method requires a lot of manpower, is inefficient, and billing is not accurate enough.

[0006] 2) Geomagnetic parking fee form:

[0007] The geomagnetic parking fee collection method uses geomagnetism to be set under the road surface corresponding to each parking space, which is easy to install. However, geomagnetism can only identify whether there is a vehicle in the parking space, but cannot identify the license plate number of the vehicle in the parking space. Therefore, it is necessary to cooperate with manual photography to obtain the corresponding license plate number of the corresponding parking space, and manage and charge on this basis. This not only requires a lot of manpower, but also requires large-scale transformation of the existing road surface, such as excavating the existing road surface, and the construction will cause problems such as affecting traffic, which is costly and requires a lot of manpower. In addition, the accuracy of actual geomagnetic parking detection is not ideal.

[0008] 3) Video parking fee collection method:

[0009] The video pole parking fee payment method is to set up a video pole in a corner of the parking space, and the video monitors the vehicles entering and leaving, which can automatically complete the parking and self-service payment. However, this method has the following problems:

[0010] (1) Easy to damage: Since the video poles are usually set on one side of the parking space along the length direction, the height is usually 80cm-120cm, which is relatively short. Therefore, the video poles are easily damaged during parking. In addition, there are also cases of artificially destroying the video poles to evade payment;

[0011] (2) Easy to be blocked: Since the video pole is short, it is easy for some obstructions to be set up on it artificially or accidentally, resulting in problems such as inability to identify parking lots;

[0012] (3) High cost: The deployment cost of video poles powered by mains electricity is high, as is the wiring required to break the line.

[0013] (4) Landscape impact: Each parking space corresponds to a video pole, and a large number of video poles have a great impact on the urban landscape.

[0014] 4) High-definition video charging form:

[0015] This method is to deploy high-position video cameras on the horizontal arm of the pole on the same side of the on-street parking space, with a height of 6-8 meters. Usually, two cameras are installed at one point to shoot 6-8 parking spaces. The images of the parking area are collected through video, and the vehicle information in the images is identified to realize the billing and management of on-street parking spaces. However, this method has the following problems:

[0016] (1) Since the camera is installed at a high position and has a horizontal arm, the requirements for the pole are high, the pole foundation must be large, and the construction cost is high;

[0017] (2) The camera is powered by the mains, and the pole location requires road breaking and construction to obtain power. The cost is very high, and the road breaking and restoration site will damage the municipal administration, bring various inconveniences and problems, and affect the beauty of the urban environment;

[0018] (3) Due to the high deployment cost, it is difficult to promote in areas with limited financial resources.

[0019] 5) High-position capture charging mode:

[0020] This method is to deploy high-position snapshot cameras on the opposite side of the on-street parking spaces, such as poles or light poles, at a height of 3-4 meters. Usually, two cameras are installed at one point to capture 3-5 parking spaces. By capturing images of the parking area and identifying vehicle information in the images, on-street parking space billing and management can be achieved. Although this solution can solve the problem of high-position video solutions with high construction costs and large damage, this method has the following problems:

[0021] (1) The camera installation position needs to ensure that the license plate of the vehicle being photographed is not likely to be blocked by adjacent vehicles. Therefore, the deployment position requirements are high, and the project deployment design will be very restricted, making the design difficult.

[0022] (2) This method can only capture images of vehicles parked in parking spaces. Due to the occlusion of vehicles near parking spaces, the shooting angle cannot be too large, resulting in a camera at one installation point only being able to capture 3-4 parking spaces, or even less, which is far less than the 6-8 parking spaces captured by the high-position video solution. At the same time, the shooting position must strictly meet the requirements, resulting in the need for a large number of poles, which has a significant impact on the city's appearance and is not conducive to the deployment and promotion of the project. In addition, if two vehicles are too close, the license plate will be blocked, making it impossible to recognize and charge. Summary of the invention

[0023] The embodiments of this specification provide a parking management method and device to solve the technical problem of how to improve the parking management effect.

[0024] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of this specification adopt the following technical solutions:

[0025] This specification provides a parking management method, which includes:

[0026] periodically acquiring images of the parking area at first time intervals;

[0027] The parking determination operation is performed periodically at a second time interval; wherein each parking determination operation includes: determining whether the parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals; the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval;

[0028] If it is determined that the parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result is determined according to the target image.

[0029] Optionally, judging whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals includes:

[0030] The parking features of the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals are compared to determine whether the parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval.

[0031] Optionally, performing parking feature comparison on the end images of the two latest second time intervals includes:

[0032] The parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals are respectively extracted, and the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals are compared.

[0033] Optionally, determining the target image according to the parking management requirement type includes:

[0034] If the parking management key information can be determined according to the latest ending image within the second time interval, the target image is the latest ending image within the second time interval;

[0035] and / or,

[0036] If the parking management key information cannot be determined according to the latest end image in the second time interval, the target image is a preset number of images before the latest end image in the second time interval or an image of a preset period before the latest end image in the second time interval;

[0037] and / or,

[0038] If the parking management target condition exists, the target image is a preset number of images before the end image in the latest second time interval or an image within a preset period of time before the end image in the latest second time interval.

[0039] and / or,

[0040] If there is no parking management target condition, the target image is the latest ending image in the second time interval.

[0041] Optionally, determining the target image according to the parking management requirement type includes:

[0042] If the parking management key information cannot be determined or the parking management target condition exists according to the latest ending image in the second time interval, the target image is all images acquired in the latest second time interval.

[0043] Optionally, periodically performing the parking determination operation according to the second time interval includes:

[0044] The latest ending image within the second time interval is periodically sent to the specific subject at the second time interval, so that the specific subject can perform a parking determination operation.

[0045] Optionally, before determining the parking management result according to the target image, the method further includes:

[0046] The target image is enabled to be acquired by a specific subject, and the target image is used by the specific subject to determine a parking management result.

[0047] Optionally, the number of the target images is determined according to the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or parking space.

[0048] Optionally, the duration of the first time interval and / or the second time interval is not greater than the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or parking space;

[0049] and / or,

[0050] The time length covered by the target image is not less than the time required for the vehicle to enter or exit the parking area or parking space;

[0051] and / or,

[0052] The time required for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or parking space refers to the average time it takes for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or parking space.

[0053] The embodiment of this specification provides a parking management device, the device comprising:

[0054] An image acquisition module, used for periodically acquiring images of the parking area at a first time interval and storing the acquired images;

[0055] A parking processing module, configured to periodically perform parking determination operations according to a second time interval; wherein each parking determination operation includes: determining whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals; and the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval;

[0056] And, if it is determined that parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result is determined according to the target image.

[0057] At least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this specification can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0058] After determining that parking information changes have occurred in the parking area, a target image is determined according to the parking management demand type, and then the parking management result is determined according to the target image. In this way, the corresponding target image can be determined according to different parking management demand types, thereby improving the diversity and accuracy of parking management and achieving better parking management results.

[0059] Through the parking judgment operation, when it is determined that the parking information has changed, the parking management result is determined according to the target image, thereby effectively reducing the number of images that need to be identified or detected, thereby reducing the power consumption of parking management.

[0060] The cycle of the parking judgment operation is greater than the cycle of image acquisition. Each parking judgment operation also judges whether the parking information has changed based on the end images of the two latest second time intervals. Therefore, there is no need to judge each image, which can effectively reduce the number of images that need to be parked. The power consumption of parking management is reduced.

[0061] By acquiring images at the first time interval, compared with existing solutions that require continuous video acquisition, such as the conventional 25fps video acquisition solution, the power consumption of parking information acquisition equipment can be significantly reduced by more than 90%. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this specification or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of this specification or the prior art description are briefly described below. Obviously, the following only describes the drawings required for use in some embodiments of this application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative labor.

[0063] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of the parking management method in the first embodiment of this specification.

[0064] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the parking management example in the first embodiment of this specification.

[0065] Figure 3 It is a working logic diagram of the parking management example in the first embodiment of this specification.

[0066] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the parking management device in the second embodiment of this specification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in this specification, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this specification will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments involved in the specific implementation methods are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments in the specific implementation methods without making creative work should belong to the scope of protection of this application.

[0068] The first embodiment of this specification (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment 1") provides a parking management method. The execution subject of embodiment 1 includes but is not limited to a terminal or a server or an operating system or an application program, that is, the execution subject can be various and can be set, used or changed as needed. In addition, a third-party application program can also assist the execution subject in executing embodiment 1.

[0069] like Figure 1 As shown, the parking management method provided in the first embodiment includes:

[0070] S101: periodically acquiring an image of a parking area at a first time interval;

[0071] In the first embodiment, the image of the parking area may be acquired periodically, for example, at a first time interval, the image of the parking area may be acquired once every first time interval, and the acquired images may be stored in a suitable manner.

[0072] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned images can be periodically acquired by a parking information acquisition device, which can have an image acquisition module (such as a camera) and a storage module, and the image acquisition module is used to periodically acquire images of the parking area, and the acquired images of the parking area can be stored in the storage module. Among them, the parking area generally refers to an area available for parking (especially an on-street or roadside parking area), which can include one or more parking spaces, regardless of whether the parking spaces are marked or not.

[0073] S103: performing a parking determination operation periodically according to a second time interval; wherein each parking determination operation includes: determining whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals; the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval;

[0074] In the first embodiment, the parking determination operation may be performed periodically, for example, at the second time interval, the parking determination operation is performed once every second time interval. That is, after each second time interval, the parking determination operation is performed for the latest second time interval.

[0075] Each parking judgment operation may include: judging whether the parking information of the parking area has changed in the latest single second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals (judging whether the parking information has changed may be specific to a certain parking space in the parking area, that is, judging whether the parking information of a single parking space has changed. The parking information of a single parking space in the parking area has changed, which is equivalent to the parking information of the parking area having changed). Accordingly, for the first second time interval, the parking judgment operation may not be performed, and the parking judgment operation may be performed from the second second time interval. Alternatively, for the first second time interval, the parking judgment operation may be performed, but the result of the parking judgment operation may be preset.

[0076] The ending image in the latest second time interval is the last image acquired in the latest second time interval. In particular, the ending image in a single second time interval may be an image acquired at the end time point of the second time interval. For two adjacent second time intervals, the end time point of the previous second time interval is the start time point of the next second time interval, so the ending image in the previous second time interval may be the start image in the next second time interval (the start image in a single second time interval is the first image acquired in the second time interval).

[0077] In the first embodiment, the second time interval is longer than the first time interval. For example, the first time interval is 5 seconds, that is, the image of the parking area is acquired every 5 seconds. The second time interval is 5 minutes, that is, the parking determination operation is performed every 5 minutes.

[0078] For example, if a parking determination operation is performed at 12:05, then 11:55 to 12:00 and 12:00 to 12:05 are the two latest second time intervals, and 12:00 to 12:05 is the latest second time interval, so the parking determination operation is to determine whether the parking information of the parking area has changed from 12:00 to 12:05 based on the ending image from 11:55 to 12:00 and the ending image from 12:00 to 12:05. Among them, the ending image from 11:55 to 12:00 is the last image obtained from 11:55 to 12:00, and the ending image from 12:00 to 12:05 is the last image obtained from 12:00 to 12:05. Similarly, if a parking judgment operation is continued at 12:10, then 12:00 to 12:05 and 12:05 to 12:10 are the two latest second time intervals, and the parking judgment operation is to judge whether the parking information of the parking area has changed from 12:05 to 12:10 based on the ending image from 12:00 to 12:05 and the ending image from 12:05 to 12:10. Among them, the ending image from 12:00 to 12:05 is the last image obtained from 12:00 to 12:05, and the ending image from 12:05 to 12:10 is the last image obtained from 12:05 to 12:10. The same applies to other situations.

[0079] Generally, the duration of the first time interval and / or the second time interval is not longer than the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or a parking space. Specifically, the average time for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or a parking space within the parking area can be statistically calculated, and the average time can be used as the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or a parking space.

[0080] In the first embodiment, judging whether parking information of the parking area has changed within the latest second time interval based on the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals may include: comparing parking features of the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals to judge whether parking information of the parking area has changed within the latest second time interval.

[0081] Wherein, comparing the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals may include: extracting the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals respectively, and comparing the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals. A suitable feature extraction algorithm, image recognition algorithm, image detection algorithm or other means may be selected to extract features, which is not limited to the first embodiment.

[0082] Specifically, parking characteristics include but are not limited to whether there is a vehicle in the parking area and / or the characteristics of the vehicle in the parking area, and the characteristics of the vehicle include but are not limited to the width / height / length / color / license plate number of the vehicle. Accordingly, parking information changes include but are not limited to a vehicle entering or leaving the parking area (or a single parking space in the parking area), or a change from a vehicle to no vehicle or from no vehicle to a vehicle, or a change in the parked vehicle. In addition, for a parking area or a single parking space in the parking area, the condition of whether there is a vehicle or no vehicle can be set as needed, for example, a vehicle is counted as having a vehicle if it completely or mostly enters the parking area or a single parking space, or a vehicle is counted as having no vehicle if it completely or mostly leaves the parking area or a single parking space.

[0083] For example, a parking determination operation is performed at 12:05, and if the parking characteristics of the ending images between 11:55 and 12:00 indicate that a certain parking space in the parking area has a vehicle parked, and the parking characteristics of the ending images between 12:00 and 12:05 indicate that no vehicle is parked in the parking space in the parking area, then it is determined that the parking information has changed between 12:05 and 12:05. Alternatively, a parking determination operation is performed at 12:10, and if the parking characteristics of the ending images between 12:05 and 12:10 indicate that no vehicle is parked in the parking area, and the parking characteristics of the ending images between 12:05 and 12:10 indicate that a vehicle is parked in the parking area, then it is determined that the parking information has changed between 12:05 and 12:10. Alternatively, a parking judgment operation is performed at 12:15. If the vehicle characteristics of a vehicle parked in a parking space in the parking area represented by the parking characteristics of the ending image between 12:05 and 12:10 are different from the vehicle characteristics of the vehicle parked in the parking space in the parking area represented by the ending image between 12:10 and 12:15, then it is judged that a parking information change occurs between 12:10 and 12:15 (i.e., a change occurs to the parked vehicle).

[0084] Exemplarily, the parking information collection device may have a processor module, and the processor module periodically performs parking determination operations according to the second time interval. The image acquisition module may transmit the end image in each second time interval to the processor module, or the processor module may obtain the end image in each second time interval from the storage module. Embodiment 1 does not limit how to obtain the end image. In addition, each image may correspond to time information (the time information corresponding to the image may be the shooting or acquisition time of the image), and the order of each image may be determined according to the time information, so as to determine the end image in each second time interval according to the time information.

[0085] Exemplarily, the parking determination operation may be performed by a specific subject (including but not limited to a server). That is, the parking information collection device may send the latest ending image within the second time interval to the specific subject at every second time interval, so that after the specific subject receives the latest ending image within the second time interval, the parking determination operation is periodically performed according to the above content. Therefore, periodically performing the parking determination operation according to the second time interval may include: periodically sending the latest ending image within the second time interval to the specific subject at the second time interval, so that the specific subject performs the parking determination operation.

[0086] Exemplarily, the parking information collection device may have a data transmission module, through which the ending image is sent to a specific subject.

[0087] S105: If it is determined that parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result is determined according to the target image.

[0088] In the first embodiment, for any parking determination operation, if it is determined through the parking determination operation that parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image may be determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result may be determined according to the target image.

[0089] Different types of parking management requirements are described below in different situations (Example 1 is not limited to the following situation 1 and / or situation 2 and / or situation 3 and / or situation 4):

[0090] Case 1: Parking management key information can be determined based on the latest ending image in the second time interval

[0091] In the first embodiment, certain information may be used as key information for parking management, and the key information for parking management includes but is not limited to the license plate number.

[0092] If the parking management key information can be determined according to the latest ending image in the second time interval, the latest ending image in the second time interval may be determined as the target image.

[0093] Case 2: Parking management key information cannot be determined based on the latest ending image in the second time interval

[0094] If the parking management key information cannot be determined based on the latest end image in the second time interval, the images of the first preset number of images from the latest end image in the second time interval or the images of the first preset period of time from the latest end image in the second time interval can be used as the target image. It can be seen that the target image can be multiple images.

[0095] For example, if the preset number is n, the target image may be the n-1 images before the end image of the latest second time interval and the end image of the latest second time interval itself; or, if the preset time period is t, the target image may be the images acquired within the time period t forward from the time corresponding to the end image of the latest second time interval, including the end image itself.

[0096] For example, assuming that the second time interval is 5 minutes, if the result of the parking judgment operation performed at 12:20 is that the vehicle information in the parking area changes, the target image will be the first preset number of images from the end image in the second time interval from 12:15 to 12:20, or the image in the first preset time period from the end image in the second time interval from 12:15 to 12:20.

[0097] The specific number of target images can be determined as needed, for example, based on the time required for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or a parking space. Specifically, the average time for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or a parking space within a parking area can be statistically calculated, and the number of target images can be determined based on the average time. If the target image is the first n images from the end image within the latest second time interval, the time interval between the first and last images of the n images should not be less than the average time; or if the target image is an image within a preset time period before the end image within the latest second time interval, the preset time period should not be less than the average time. In short, the length of time covered by the target image (i.e., the time interval between the first and last images of the target image) should not be less than the time required for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or a parking space.

[0098] In particular, the time length covered by the target image may be not less than the second time interval. In addition, when the first time interval and the second time interval are determined, the number of images that can be acquired in the second time interval is also determined, and the target image may specifically be all images acquired in the latest second time interval (generally, all images acquired by the camera corresponding to the parking area or parking space where the parking information has changed in the latest first time interval). In other words, the above-mentioned preset time period may be the second time interval.

[0099] In particular, in the second case, the target image may not include the end image in the latest second time interval, but the n images before the end image in the latest second time interval or the images in the previous t time period are used as the target image.

[0100] Case 3: Parking management target conditions exist

[0101] In the first embodiment, certain parking management target conditions may be set, for example, by setting the parking management target conditions through the management background, or by the user through the application on the terminal held by the user to personalize the parking management target conditions. Parking management target conditions are generally used to restrict parking management and improve the accuracy of parking management. For example, the start and end time points of parking billing are restricted, and the accuracy or precision of the start and end time points of parking billing is required to meet certain conditions.

[0102] If the parking management target condition exists, the images of the preset number of images before the end image in the latest second time interval or the images of the preset period before the end image in the latest second time interval can be used as the target images. That is, the specific method of determining the target image in case 3 is the same as that in case 2, but the specific value of the preset number or the preset period can be different from that in case 2.

[0103] In particular, in case three, the target image usually includes the latest end image in the second time interval.

[0104] Case 4: No parking management target conditions exist

[0105] If there is no parking management target condition, the end image in the latest second time interval may be determined as the target image.

[0106] Situation 5: Changes in Parked Vehicles

[0107] If a parking vehicle changes in the parking area or parking space within the latest second time interval, that is, an original vehicle leaves and a new vehicle enters a single parking area or parking space, then the parking information change in the second time interval can be determined by the end images of the two latest second time intervals (i.e., the second time interval and the previous second time interval). In this case, the end image of the latest second time interval generally captures the newly entered vehicle, and according to the end image of the latest second time interval, generally only the parking management key information of the newly entered vehicle can be determined (equivalent to not being able to determine the parking management key information of the leaving vehicle), or the parking management key information cannot be determined (for example, the license plate of the newly entered vehicle is blocked), so situation five is actually equivalent to situation two. Referring to situation two, the images of the first preset number of images from the end image of the latest second time interval or the images of the first preset period of time from the end image of the latest second time interval can be used as the target image.

[0108] Since the target image may be all images acquired within the latest second time interval, determining the target image according to the parking management requirement type may include: if the parking management key information cannot be determined based on the end image within the latest second time interval or there is a parking management target condition, then the target image is all images acquired within the latest second time interval.

[0109] From the above content, it can be seen that in case 2 or case 3, multiple images are generally used as target images, which is further explained as follows:

[0110] In the second case, although the parking management key information cannot be determined based on the latest ending image in the second time interval, since the vehicle entering and exiting the parking area or parking space is a continuously changing process, the images of the first preset number of images from the latest ending image in the second time interval or the images of the first preset period of time from the latest ending image in the second time interval can be selected. These images can cover or track the process of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking area or parking space, and then the parking management key information can be determined through these images. For example, in the latest ending image in the second time interval, the vehicle has been parked, but the license plate is blocked by other objects (for example, blocked by other vehicles, not intentionally blocked by humans) and cannot be recognized, so the parking management key information of the license plate cannot be determined only by the latest ending image in the second time interval. However, since the first preset number of images from the latest ending image in the second time interval or the images of the first preset period of time from the latest ending image in the second time interval reflect the parking process of the vehicle, the vehicle status or position in these images is generally changing, and the license plate will not be blocked all the time, and the license plate information can be determined from these images. Similarly, in case five, the target image can be used to track the process of the original vehicle leaving and the new vehicle entering, thereby determining the key parking management information of the original vehicle and the new vehicle.

[0111] In case 3, due to the existence of parking management target conditions, there is a higher requirement for the accuracy of parking management. Therefore, a preset number of images from the end image of the latest second time interval or images of a preset period of time from the end image of the latest second time interval can be selected, and the process of vehicles entering and leaving the parking area or parking space can be covered or tracked through these images, and then the information required for parking management can be determined more accurately through these images, such as the time when the vehicle enters and leaves the parking area or parking space, that is, the start or end time of parking billing.

[0112] Correspondingly, in situation four, since there is no parking management target condition, the accuracy of parking management is relatively low, so the information required for parking management can generally be determined through the end image within the latest second time interval. For example, if it is determined that the vehicle enters the parking area or parking space within the latest second time interval, the acquisition time of the end image within the latest second time interval or the end time of the latest second time interval can be used as the time when the vehicle enters or exits the parking area or parking space, that is, the start time of parking billing; or if it is determined that the vehicle leaves the parking area or parking space within the latest second time interval, the end time of the second time interval before the latest second time interval can be used as the time when the vehicle leaves the parking area or parking space, that is, the end time of parking billing (this can ensure that the parking fee is not overcalculated).

[0113] In the first embodiment, the parking management result can be determined according to the target image. The parking management result includes but is not limited to vehicle information entering and exiting the parking area or parking space and / or parking time information and / or parking fee information and / or parking area occupancy information (the use of the parking area occupancy information includes but is not limited to displaying it to the user).

[0114] Among them, the parking management result can be determined by a specific subject (including but not limited to a server) according to the target image. Therefore, before determining the parking management result according to the target image, the specific subject can obtain the target image, and the target image is used by the specific subject to determine the parking management result. The specific subject can use a suitable algorithm to identify or detect the target image, so as to determine the parking management result, which is not limited to the first embodiment.

[0115] If the parking judgment operation and the determination of the parking management result are performed by the same subject, the subject may determine which images are target images and obtain the required target images from the parking information collection device. For example, the subject sends an instruction to the parking information collection device so that the parking information collection device sends the corresponding target image to the subject. Furthermore, if the target image includes the latest end image within the second time interval or takes the latest end image within the second time interval as the target image, the parking information collection device may not repeatedly send the latest end image within the second time interval to the subject.

[0116] If the parking judgment operation and the determination of the parking management result are performed by different subjects, the subject that performs the parking judgment operation (referred to as the first subject) can determine which images are target images, and make the parking information collection device send the target images to the subject that performs the determination of the parking management result (referred to as the second subject). For example, the first subject sends an instruction to the parking information collection device so that the parking information collection device sends the corresponding target images to the second subject. Alternatively, the second subject can determine which images are target images (the first subject and the second subject can communicate, so that the second subject can determine the target images) and obtain the required target images from the parking information collection device. For example, the second subject sends an instruction to the parking information collection device so that the parking information collection device sends the corresponding target images to the second subject. Moreover, if the latest ending image within the second time interval is used as the target image, the first subject can directly send the latest ending image within the second time interval to the second subject. In addition, the acquired ending image does not need to be sent repeatedly.

[0117] In the first embodiment, the parking information collection device can compress the target image and send the compression result (for example, compressing the target image into a data packet or a video, the compression result is the data packet or the video) to the corresponding subject. The corresponding subject can decompress or frame the video to obtain the target image, and then determine the parking management result according to the target image.

[0118] In addition, for the parking information collection device, images whose storage time (i.e., from storage to date) reaches or exceeds the preset time length can be deleted, thereby saving the storage space of the parking information collection device. Alternatively, the images whose storage time reaches or exceeds the preset time length in the latest third time interval can be sent to other entities (such as other storage devices) at every third time interval, and the images stored by the parking information collection device and sent to other entities are deleted. The third time interval can be longer than the second time interval. In this way, the storage space of the parking information collection device can be saved while retaining the acquired images.

[0119] Exemplarily, the parking information collection device may have a power supply module for supplying power to the above modules and other modules. The power supply module may include one or more batteries, and the power supply module may be a solar power supply module, which is powered by solar energy, or may be powered by mains electricity or other suitable power supply methods. The modules may be connected in a suitable manner to achieve data transmission or power supply between each other, which is not limited to the first embodiment.

[0120] In addition, the parking information collection device may also have a video collection function, or the above-mentioned images may be frames of images obtained by framing the collected video (for example, video framing is performed every first time interval, which is also a way of periodically acquiring images).

[0121] In addition, the parking information collection device may have multiple image collection modules (e.g., multiple cameras), each of which collects images for one or more parking areas or parking spaces. For any image collection module, the above contents are executed based on the images collected by the image collection module, and the parking management result of the parking area or parking space targeted by the image collection module can be determined as above.

[0122] The first embodiment is further described below by way of examples:

[0123] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 The parking information collection device may include a camera, a communication module, a power management module, a power supply module and a charging module. The power management module may control the working state of each module (such as working / sleeping / power off). The camera may be a dual-channel camera with two lens modules and a large focal length zoom lens, which can adapt to various road width conditions.

[0124] In this example, the camera can use a high-frequency capture method, for example, capture the parking area once every 6 seconds (belonging to the first time interval). During the interval between shots, high-energy-consuming components (such as cameras) can be put into sleep or powered off (this can be achieved through the power management module). This can reduce power consumption and extend the power supply time of the power supply module. The power supply module can use a battery, and the charging module can use solar charging (supporting MPPT, which can be maintenance-free) or other methods.

[0125] In this example, the latest ending image within the second time interval can be sent to the server through a communication module (such as a 4G or 5G communication module) every 120 seconds (belonging to the second time interval), and the server performs a parking judgment operation.

[0126] Assuming that a certain vehicle is parked in a certain parking space within a second time interval, the end images of the two latest second time intervals (i.e., the second time interval and the previous second time interval) can be used to determine whether the parking information of the second time interval has changed. If the server can determine the parking management key information (such as license plate information) based on the end image of the latest second time interval, the end image of the second time interval is used as the target image; if the server cannot determine the parking management key information (such as license plate information) based on the end image of the latest second time interval, all images within the second time interval are used as the target image; if there is a parking management target condition, all images within the second time interval are used as the target image; if there is no parking management target condition, the end image within the second time interval is used as the target image. If all images within the second time interval are used as the target image, the parking information collection device compresses the corresponding image and sends it to the server.

[0127] The server determines the parking management result based on the target image. The parking management result includes but is not limited to the information of the vehicle (such as license plate information), the time information of the vehicle entering the parking space of the parking area (the time information of the vehicle entering the parking space can be determined based on the time information corresponding to each target image, for example, if a target image shows that the vehicle enters the parking space, the shooting time of the target image can be used as the time when the vehicle enters the parking space; or the vehicle trajectory is tracked through each target image using vehicle tracking technology, so as to accurately determine the time when the vehicle enters the parking space), and parking billing or charging is started according to the parking time (some fixed-fee parking areas can charge when the vehicle enters).

[0128] If the vehicle leaves the parking space in the parking area within another second time interval, the parking information change in the second time interval can be determined by the end images of the two latest second time intervals (i.e., the second time interval and the previous second time interval). If the server can determine the parking management key information (such as license plate information) based on the end image of the latest second time interval, the end image of the second time interval is used as the target image; if the server cannot determine the parking management key information (such as license plate information) based on the end image of the latest second time interval, all images in the second time interval are used as the target image; if there is a parking management target condition, all images in the second time interval are used as the target image; if there is no parking management target condition, the end image in the second time interval is used as the target image. If all images in the second time interval are used as the target image, the parking information collection device compresses the corresponding image and sends it to the server.

[0129] The server determines the parking management result based on the target image. The parking management result includes but is not limited to the information of the vehicle (such as license plate information), the time information of the vehicle leaving the parking space of the parking area (the time information of the vehicle leaving the parking space can be determined based on the time information corresponding to each target image. For example, if a target image shows that the vehicle leaves the parking space, the shooting time of the previous target image of the target image or the end time of the previous second time interval can be used as the time when the vehicle leaves the parking space (this can ensure that the parking fee is not overcalculated); or the vehicle tracking technology is used to track the vehicle trajectory through each target image, so as to accurately determine the time when the vehicle leaves the parking space), and the parking billing is terminated or charged according to the departure time.

[0130] Embodiment 1 can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0131] After determining that the parking information of the parking area has changed, the target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and then the parking management result is determined according to the target image. For example, even if the vehicle is parked in the parking space and its license plate is blocked by other objects, the dynamic parking process of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking area or parking space can still be fully tracked through the target image. Therefore, the target image can still identify the vehicle's license plate information and other features through the dynamic parking process, thereby improving the accuracy and comprehensiveness of parking management, and the license plate information can be collected even if the license plate is blocked. For example, in the case of parking management target conditions, various types of parking-related information can be more accurately determined through the target image, thereby improving the accuracy and comprehensiveness of parking management. It can be seen that Example 1 can determine the corresponding target image according to different parking management requirement types, and then determine the parking management result, thereby improving the diversity, accuracy and comprehensiveness of parking management, and achieving better parking management effects.

[0132] Through the parking judgment operation, when it is determined that the parking information has changed, the parking management result is determined based on the target image, and there is no need to identify or detect each image obtained by the parking information collection device, thereby effectively reducing the number of images that need to be identified or detected, and can also reduce the number, frequency, power consumption and wireless transmission charges of image transmission. When a specific subject is used to perform a parking judgment operation or determine the parking management result, the amount of received data and the bandwidth, storage and computing load of the specific subject can also be reduced, thereby reducing the parking management power consumption including the power consumption of the specific subject. It can be seen that the first embodiment can reduce the power consumption including the power consumption of the parking information collection device and each specific subject, and improve the energy efficiency of parking management.

[0133] The cycle of the parking judgment operation is greater than the cycle of image acquisition. Each parking judgment operation also judges whether the parking information has changed based on the end images of the two latest second time intervals. Therefore, there is no need to judge each image, which can effectively reduce the number of images that need to be parked. The power consumption of parking management is reduced.

[0134] Since the second time interval is no longer than the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or parking space, each vehicle entering or exiting a parking area or parking space can be detected through the parking judgment operation, and the situation of a single vehicle entering or exiting a parking area or parking space will not be missed, thereby ensuring the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the parking judgment. Since the first time interval is smaller, the association between the target images is closer, which is conducive to more accurate tracking of the process of vehicles entering or exiting a parking area or parking space.

[0135] Since the time length covered by the target image is not less than the time required for the vehicle to enter and exit the parking area or parking space, even if the number of images that need to be identified or detected is reduced, the target image can still fully track the process of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking area or parking space, and then accurately determine the parking management results, ensuring the accuracy and comprehensiveness of parking management.

[0136] Compared with existing parking fee charging solutions that require continuous video acquisition, such as conventional 25fps video acquisition solutions, the first embodiment uses periodic image acquisition at a first time interval to significantly reduce the power consumption of parking information acquisition equipment, with the power consumption reduction reaching more than 90%.

[0137] Images that have been stored for a period of time that reaches or exceeds a preset period of time are sent to other entities at third time intervals, and the images that have been sent to other entities are deleted. This can save storage space and reduce the frequency of sending images to other entities, thereby further reducing the power consumption of the parking information collection equipment.

[0138] By compressing the transmission, the number of transmissions can be minimized, the data transmission time can be reduced, the power consumption can be reduced, and the bandwidth, storage, load, etc. of the subject can be reduced.

[0139] Since the license plate information can be collected even if the license plate is blocked, the camera can use a high-resolution (e.g., 4K resolution) camera, and each camera can cover more parking spaces. For example, two 4K cameras on a pole can collect images of at least seven parking spaces, thereby greatly reducing the number of poles used to install parking information collection equipment, and the position of each pole is more flexible, and the distance between each pole can be increased. Since the existing street light poles are relatively far apart, the first embodiment facilitates the installation of parking information collection equipment with the help of existing street light poles, avoiding various problems caused by re-construction.

[0140] Advanced power management technology is used to control the sleep / power-off of each hardware functional unit, so that the device can quickly enter sleep or low-power state during image acquisition, and can quickly wake up to complete the capture, realizing the device's high-frequency capture and low-power consumption characteristics. In the case of high-frequency capture, the correlation between each target image is closer, which is conducive to more accurate tracking of the process of vehicles entering and exiting parking areas or parking spaces.

[0141] Embodiment 1 can be powered by a large-capacity battery. A single charge can enable long-term operation of the device. The device can be charged by solar energy. In most environments with good solar energy, the device can be powered without maintenance. At the same time, benefiting from the low power consumption characteristics, the ability of the device to withstand continuous rainy days can be greatly enhanced.

[0142] like Figure 4 As shown, the second embodiment of this specification provides a parking management device corresponding to the method described in the first embodiment, and the device includes:

[0143] An image acquisition module 202, configured to periodically acquire images of the parking area at a first time interval and store the acquired images;

[0144] The parking processing module 204 is used to periodically perform parking determination operations according to second time intervals; wherein each parking determination operation includes: determining whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals; and the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval;

[0145] And, if it is determined that parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result is determined according to the target image.

[0146] Optionally, judging whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals includes:

[0147] The parking features of the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals are compared to determine whether the parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval.

[0148] Optionally, performing parking feature comparison on the end images of the two latest second time intervals includes:

[0149] The parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals are respectively extracted, and the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals are compared.

[0150] Optionally, determining the target image according to the parking management requirement type includes:

[0151] If the parking management key information can be determined according to the latest ending image within the second time interval, the target image is the latest ending image within the second time interval;

[0152] and / or,

[0153] If the parking management key information cannot be determined according to the latest end image in the second time interval, the target image is a preset number of images before the latest end image in the second time interval or an image of a preset period before the latest end image in the second time interval;

[0154] and / or,

[0155] If the parking management target condition exists, the target image is a preset number of images before the end image in the latest second time interval or an image within a preset period of time before the end image in the latest second time interval.

[0156] and / or,

[0157] If there is no parking management target condition, the target image is the latest ending image in the second time interval.

[0158] Optionally, determining the target image according to the parking management requirement type includes:

[0159] If the parking management key information cannot be determined or the parking management target condition exists according to the latest ending image in the second time interval, the target image is all images acquired in the latest second time interval.

[0160] Optionally, periodically performing the parking determination operation according to the second time interval includes:

[0161] The latest ending image within the second time interval is periodically sent to the specific subject at the second time interval, so that the specific subject can perform a parking determination operation.

[0162] Optionally, the parking processing module 204 is further used to enable a specific subject to obtain the target image before determining the parking management result according to the target image, and the target image is used for the specific subject to determine the parking management result.

[0163] Optionally, the number of the target images is determined according to the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or parking space.

[0164] Optionally, the duration of the first time interval and / or the second time interval is not greater than the time required for a vehicle to enter or exit a parking area or parking space;

[0165] and / or,

[0166] The time length covered by the target image is not less than the time required for the vehicle to enter or exit the parking area or parking space;

[0167] and / or,

[0168] The time required for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or parking space refers to the average time it takes for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or parking space.

[0169] The second embodiment can achieve the same technical effect as the first embodiment, and the embodiments can be used in combination.

[0170] The above is only an embodiment of this specification and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A parking management method, characterized in that: The method comprises: periodically acquiring images of the parking area at first time intervals; The parking determination operation is performed periodically at a second time interval; wherein each parking determination operation includes: determining whether the parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals; the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval; If it is determined that the parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result is determined according to the target image.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Judging whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals includes: The parking features of the respective end images of the two latest second time intervals are compared to determine whether the parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Comparing the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals comprises: The parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals are respectively extracted, and the parking features of the end images of the two latest second time intervals are compared.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Target images are determined based on parking management requirements, including: If the parking management key information can be determined according to the latest ending image within the second time interval, the target image is the latest ending image within the second time interval; and / or, If the parking management key information cannot be determined according to the latest end image in the second time interval, the target image is a preset number of images before the latest end image in the second time interval or an image of a preset period before the latest end image in the second time interval; and / or, If the parking management target condition exists, the target image is a preset number of images before the end image in the latest second time interval or an image within a preset period of time before the end image in the latest second time interval. and / or, If there is no parking management target condition, the target image is the latest ending image in the second time interval.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Target images are determined based on parking management requirements, including: If the parking management key information cannot be determined or the parking management target condition exists according to the latest ending image in the second time interval, the target image is all images acquired in the latest second time interval.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The periodic parking determination operation according to the second time interval includes: The latest ending image within the second time interval is periodically sent to the specific subject at the second time interval, so that the specific subject can perform a parking determination operation.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that Before determining the parking management result according to the target image, the method further includes: The target image is enabled to be acquired by a specific subject, and the target image is used by the specific subject to determine a parking management result.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The number of the target images is determined according to the time required for the vehicle to enter or exit the parking area or parking space.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 8, characterized in that The duration of the first time interval and / or the second time interval is no longer than the time required for the vehicle to enter or exit the parking area or parking space; and / or, The time length covered by the target image is not less than the time required for the vehicle to enter or exit the parking area or parking space; and / or, The time required for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or parking space refers to the average time it takes for a vehicle to enter and exit a parking area or parking space.

10. A parking management device, characterized in that: The device comprises: An image acquisition module, used for periodically acquiring images of the parking area at a first time interval; A parking processing module, configured to periodically perform a parking determination operation at a second time interval; wherein each parking determination operation includes: determining whether parking information of the parking area changes within the latest second time interval according to the end images of the two latest second time intervals; and the duration of the second time interval is greater than the duration of the first time interval; And, if it is determined that parking information of the parking area has changed, a target image is determined according to the parking management requirement type, and a parking management result is determined according to the target image.

Images